A stable local economy, relatively low debt load and reliable budgetary track record have added up to Mendota Heights receiving the highest possible endorsement from its rating agency.
City officials say the AAA bond rating received from Standard & Poor’s is especially noteworthy for a city as small as Mendota Heights and will help save taxpayers money in the long term in the form of reduced interest rates for city projects.

As part of an effort by the Department of Homeland Security to entice a new generation of computer wizards to think about a career in cybersecurity, Inver Hills is sponsoring the Minnesota Cyber Aces State Competition. Minnesota is the third state to hold the competition, behind New Jersey and Virginia.

Rogers Lake boaters, start your engines.
The Mendota Heights City Council approved an ordinance during its Sept. 17 meeting that will allow people to use boats with electric motors on Rogers Lake south of Wagon Wheel Trail. The move is a reversal from the council’s stance last summer, when it decided not to pursue an ordinance amendment on electric motors despite a petition from a Rogers Lake homeowners association.

It was, in the words of Tommy Lee Jones' character in "The Fugitive," a search of every "residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse" and garage and shed in the area.
And thankfully for all concerned, it turned up its young target unharmed.

At 9 a.m. Friday morning, South St. Paul police were called to a scene near Roosevelt Field, in the 500 block of Fifth Avenue South, on a report of a shooting.
According to a statement by Police Chief William Messerich, they met a male there who said three other males had shot at him and then fled on foot.
The person shot at was not injured.

This rendering depicts how Inver Glen Library is expected to look from the northeast side of the building after a 4,400 square-foot expansion is completed next summer. (submitted graphic)

Inver Grove Heights bookworms have something to look forward to besides the latest installment in a favorite series.
The Inver Glen Library in Inver Grove Heights is planning an expansion that will increase the size of the library by one third, adding meeting rooms and more quiet corners for readers to curl up in. The plans have been in talks for the past three years, but cleared a final hurdle July 22 when they received approval from the Inver Grove Heights City Council.

If good things really do come to those who wait then expectations will be riding high for West St. Paul’s new city manager.
Matt Fulton, a former city manager of Coon Rapids and New Brighton, became the first person to hold the city’s highest paid position in nearly two years, following the city council’s approval of an employment agreement at its July 22 meeting. Fulton was selected after extensive vetting and interviews that winnowed an initial pool of 42 applicants for the position.

The South Metro Fire Department and the South St. Paul Police Department request the public’s help to end to the series of arson fires that have plagued the city for the past two years.
The most recent rash of fires, set July 16 between 1 and 3:30 a.m., did significant property damage.

A West St. Paul man who shot at Inver Grove Heights police before leading officers on a high-speed chase was convicted on multiple felony charges last week.
Justin Thadeus Amick, 41, was convicted July 18 on two counts of assault and one count of ineligible person in possession of a firearm. Amick was acquitted on two charges of attempted murder and two additional assault charges.